Plant-Based Colloidal Delivery Systems for Bioactives

Abstract

The supplementation of plant-based foods and beverages with bioactive agents may be an important strategy for increasing human healthiness. Numerous kinds of colloidal delivery systems have been developed to encapsulate bioactives with the goal of improving their water dispersibility, chemical stability, and bioavailability. In this review, we focus on colloidal delivery systems assembled entirely from plant-based ingredients, such as lipids, proteins, polysaccharides, phospholipids, and surfactants isolated from botanical sources. In particular, the utilization of these ingredients to create plant-based nanoemulsions, nanoliposomes, nanoparticles, and microgels is covered. The utilization of these delivery systems to encapsulate, protect, and release various kinds of bioactives is highlighted, including oil-soluble vitamins (like vitamin D), ω-3 oils, carotenoids (vitamin A precursors), curcuminoids, and polyphenols. The functionality of these delivery systems can be tailored to specific applications by careful selection of ingredients and processing operations, as this enables the composition, size, shape, internal structure, surface chemistry, and electrical characteristics of the colloidal particles to be controlled. The plant-based delivery systems discussed in this article may be useful for introducing active ingredients into the next generation of plant-based foods, meat, seafood, milk, and egg analogs. Nevertheless, there is still a need to systematically compare the functional performance of different delivery systems for specific applications to establish the most appropriate one. In addition, there is a need to test their efficacy at delivering bioavailable forms of bioactives using in vivo studies.

Emulsion-Based Delivery Systems to Enhance the Functionality of Bioactive Compounds: Towards the Use of Ingredients from Natural, Sustainable Sources

“…Regarding natural proteins, whey proteins and caseins from bovine milk have been widely used as emulsifiers, as they are effective for the stabilisation of emulsion-based systems [ 97 , 98 , 99 ]. Recently, some researchers have focused on the use of plant-based proteins such as those from peas, lentils, or rice, to stabilise emulsion-based delivery systems since they are better for human health, the environment, and animal welfare [ 100 ]. As an example, some authors have reported that despite being a poorly soluble protein, pea protein can be used to stabilise vitamin-D-loaded nanoemulsions after a pH-shifting and sonication treatment [ 101 ].…”

Co-Encapsulation of Tannic Acid and Resveratrol in Zein/Pectin Nanoparticles: Stability, Antioxidant Activity, and Bioaccessibility

“…Over the past decade or so, there has been a great deal of interest in developing colloidal delivery systems that can encapsulate, protect, and release bioactive substances, such as drugs, nutrients, and nutraceuticals [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. To be suitable for commercial applications, these delivery systems should be fabricated from affordable and label-friendly food ingredients using cost-effective and sustainable manufacturing operations that are capable of being scaled up [ 4 ].…”

A Comparative Evaluation of the Structural and Biomechanical Properties of Food-Grade Biopolymers as Potential Hydrogel Building Blocks

“…Some types of starch are rapidly hydrolyzed by amylase in the mouth and small intestine, while most other polysaccharides, collectively known as dietary fibers, are not digested but can be fermented by the prebiotic bacteria (e.g., inulin, pectin, psyllium) [ 44 , 45 ]. This can allow the use of biopolymer hydrogels to prolong the satiety effect of foods, and more importantly to enhance the gastrointestinal stability of bioactive compounds they can be carrying [ 46 ]. Some applications of biopolymeric hydrogels are highly interdisciplinary (drug delivery system, matrix for tissue culture, etc.).…”